SYSK's 12 Days of Christmas… Toys: How Monopoly Works | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[bell]. >> Oh boy, it's time for one of my favorite. episodes, how Monopoly works. This one. was way more interesting than I ever. understood. There's a lot more to. Monopoly, and just as a little aside, if. you think that the Monopoly man wore a. monocle, you're wrong. [music] You're. thinking of Mr. Peanut. Plus also, it. makes sense that he'd be wearing a. monocle. It's a bit of a [music] crime. that he wasn't. At any rate, here's the. episode on Monopoly. Welcome [music] to Stuff You Should Know.

from howstuffworks.com. >> [music]. >> Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh Clark with Charles W. Chuck Bryant. and Jerry Rowland, which makes us Stuff. You Should Know. That's right. Got on my. top hat and my cane. Your monocle? My. monocle? See, I have monocle. I thought. it was. No, that's Mr. Peanut. Oh, yeah. Not Mr. Monopoly. And I think. Mr. Pringle has a monocle, too, doesn't. he? Oh.

No, he just has a mustache. >> Mr. Monopoly doesn't have a monocle, huh? I don't think so. Huh. You'd think we'd know. >> [laughter]. >> We do not, but I do know this, Mr. Monopoly is a nickname for that man. That's right. His born name is given. name by his parents is Rich Uncle. Pennybags. Three names. So, Uncle would. be his middle name. Yeah. It well, he. even has a regular name, too. Oh, not. that I saw. Yeah, it is.

Milburn Pennybags. No. Yeah, there was a. book. published, and this is one of those. after-the-fact deals called The Monopoly. Companion. Uh-huh. And they named all the character. characters on the board Milburn. Pennybags, and then the jail guy is Jake. the Jailbird. Okay. And the police. officer and go to jail is I thought it. was Officer Edgar Mallory, isn't it? >> Officer Edgar Mallory. I knew it. >> [laughter]. >> Really, you just guessed that, huh? >> Yeah. That's pretty funny. We're talking about Monopoly, by the. way. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

This is not about. anything else but Monopoly. No, and I. was just remarking to you, sir, how. I've never seen one of our This had more. supplemental information than most shows. that we research. Yeah, I I can explain. why. Because. this was written there was a whole suite. of. game articles written. Yeah. Like just. how to play certain games. >> Sure. So, it kind of came out in this. mentality and of this is the game and.

here's how we explain how to play it, and then this article's done. Whereas, Monopoly, it's like this is more like. McDonald's or Twinkies or something like. that. It's like a. cultural. cog. Yeah, I mean, there's so much extra. junk history and. I mean, you talk about the different. versions, it's ridiculous. Milburn. Pennybags? Yeah. And like I said, that. was a post He wasn't originally called.

that. This is I think Monopoly probably. wanted to sell a little little book or. two. I'm sure they did. Because if one. thing we've learned about Parker. Brothers and now Hasbro Uh-huh. is they. love selling different versions of this. game. Yeah, they do. They like licensing. it off. >> of money doing that. >> making some changes here or there, and. releasing a brand new game, but it's all. still the same game. And all of it um. came from a left-wing Quaker.

intellectual at the turn of the last. century, the fin de siècle. Yeah. I. think I'm saying that right. Yeah, sure. Okay. I think it sounds. right. Uh and it's interesting to me. that the game of Monopoly, which is all. about capitalism bankrupting your. neighbor Yeah. uh was stolen. The game. was stolen. From a leftist intellectual Quaker. It. In the original version of the game, it. was to teach against monopolies and how. they're bad.

>> Right. So, let's talk about this. Monopoly, actually, if you trace it back. to about the like the literal beginning. of the 20th century um it's what's. considered a folk game. There were a lot. of people playing versions like this in. cities all over the country, but again, they all shared some. pretty common viewpoints. Uh I guess you. would today you would kind of call them. socialist. Um but for the most part, they were. followers of a guy named Henry George.

Yeah, Georgism. Yeah, he came up with. this thing called Georgism, which is. based on some other philosophies, but. the idea of it is that if you produce. something through the through your own. labor, your own work, you own that. That. should not be taxed. >> Right. What should be taxed is things that. everybody owns. If somebody's taking. something that belongs to everybody, say. a parcel of land Yeah. technically, the. land belongs everybody. Well, that was. his notion was that you shouldn't even. be a landowner. Like the whole concept. of owning land to him was ridiculous.

>> And that's based on this idea, the law. of the commons, which is around for. centuries if not millennia. And then. once people started taking land, he's. like, "Okay, well, if you're going to. own land. it belongs everybody, so that should be. taxed. >> Yeah. And then that tax will be given. back to the community for the greater. good. >> Yeah. So, that's Georgism, and that was kind. of the philosophy that formed the basis. of Monopoly, what was originally called. The Landlord's Game, which is created by. a lady named Lizzie Magie. M A.

G I E. M A G I E? M A G I E. Yeah. Almost magpie, but without the P. >> [laughter]. >> Right? Uh yeah. And she basically. >> that was on her card. She. >> [laughter]. >> Right. in quote. >> Yeah. And she she came up with this, like you said, to kind of teach. um so you could go and be a rich. landowner and bankrupt other people and. exploit the poor who need your help, who need a decent place to stay. And you.

could see yourself like the evils of. capitalism. But she actually came up. with two. sets of rules for the same game. One was. where you got as rich as you could at. the expense of everybody else. Yeah. The. other was a. basically the community benefited. And. you can kind of see that today in like. Yeah. weird things like community chest. Like, why would I want to, you know, pay. into this pot? I don't care about the. community. Like now it's a bad thing. Yeah. In her.

original version, it was a good thing. Like the community won. Right. >> And that was the basis of the whole. thing. Yeah, which is really ironic. It. is. Uh yeah, like you said, she created two. versions, and she said um. one of the quotes from her is, "It is a. practical demonstration of the present. system of land grabbing with all its. usual outcomes and consequences." So, it. you know, it was kind of to teach people. lessons. Uh. and she. had it stolen from her. She did. Luckily. Lizzie Magie was smart enough to patent.

this game. Uh it became just kind of a. trendy thing again, like if you were. into socialism at the time and you were. on the East Coast you probably hung out. at a friend's house and and um. played this game at some point in some. incarnation or another. Yeah, it was. really popular, like you said, like. people made up some of their own rules, but it was if I mean, if you look at the. original Landlord's Game board, it looks. a lot like the current Monopoly. I mean. similar, at least. >> Yeah. And apparently, a lot of the uh.

the rules that make the game a lot more. enjoyable today came from. Lizzie's Quaker friends. Like, for. example, um. the original plots of land were up for. auction for for bid. >> Yeah, yeah. Quakers prefer silence, so. they just put a fixed price on the piece. of land, so there wouldn't be a loud, obnoxious bidding war. Um they also. instituted tokens. Fun tokens before.

they were just boring pawns. Yeah, like. household objects, which, you know, that's why the thimble is in there and. originally the iron. We'll get to those. in a minute, but um. I know. It's pretty exciting. Uh and. then so, this thing's being played and. Lizzie Magie holds the patent, but she's. not exactly like cracking down on any. kind of infringement, really. No, well, she pitched it to Parker Brothers, and. they said no. Yeah, so she just kind of. went on doing her own thing. So, there's. another lady actually that figures into.

this. A lady named Ruth Hoskins. And she was. one of the ones who caught on in the. like Philadelphia-Atlantic City area. with her Quaker friends. >> Uh-huh. Uh two of them in particular, Jesse and Eugene Raiford. Uh and they are the ones who changed. some of the rules to make it look more. like the Monopoly we know. Huh. They. taught it to a friend. uh named Todd, and Todd taught it to his. friend named Charles Darrow, and that's. where the story takes. kind of a seedy turn. Well, actually,

that's where the. Parker Brothers official version begins, ironically. Yeah, I mean, things turn. seedy Parker Brothers. >> is like, "Hey, this is where our story. begins.". >> Yeah, the inventor of Monopoly, Charles. Darrow. >> Right. So, he was like a radiator. salesman during the Depression. This is. the '30s, right? Yeah, I mean, it was. ironically again, during the Depression, this game really caught hold. Well, I. supposedly, that's what caught the. Parker Brothers attention was that this. guy came to came to him, came to them to.

sell him this game. which he had stolen. Yeah, apparently, he didn't innovate it at all. He kind of. just copied it and packaged it and said, "Hey, what do you think of this?" And. the Parker Brothers said, "We don't. think too much of it. Like, how does the. game end? We don't know what's going on. here. So, let's just um. you just go your own way." So, Charles Darrow went off and started. selling it at this uh. department store in Philadelphia. Yeah, without patenting it. >> Right. And um the Parker Brothers said,

"You know what? It's the Depression. Can. you believe it? We're not going to have. any kind of economic woes like this for. another 70 80 years.". And this guy's selling these things like. hotcakes. You know what, sir? We will. buy your idea from you. And Charles. Darrow apparently said, "Well, that's great. >> Yeah. Give me the money first and then. I'll tell you the second part of the. story." [laughter] Yeah. And they gave. him a bag of money with a dollar sign on.

it, much like the ones that um Rich. Uncle Pennybags likes. >> Yeah. And uh he said, "Okay. Um we also. need to buy the patent off from this. lady named Lizzie Magie." Yeah, which. they did. Um the game was still stolen, I say, even though that they eventually did pay. her money. Uh but part of the deal was they said um. they they agreed to buy her patent and. said, "You know what? We're going to. we'll sell a few of your other game. ideas, too. None of those ever went. anywhere and she was sort of lost to.

history." Yeah. Except for people who do. a little bit of digging. Yeah, and we actually have a a guy named. Ralph to thank for doing that digging. initially. We'll talk about him later. Oh, yeah, that's right. >> Yeah, cuz he's the one who came up with. the unofficial history and like really. tracked it down. Well, there's a lot of. teases in this one so far. So, um the. Parker Brothers now own the game and uh. it becomes a huge hit virtually off the. bat. In the '30s is when they bought it. and started really printing it. Yeah,

and the game is based on Atlantic City. Uh those are the properties and that's. because that was the area where it. became popular. Right. But um this. excellent New York Times article you. sent, uh what was the name of it? Monopoly Goes Corporate? Yeah, it was. written by uh what's the what's the. lady's name? Uh Mary uh Pilon. She is a. Monopoly expert. There's a lot of those. out there, I've learned. She well, she. wrote a lot of the articles you'll find. Oh, really? >> Yeah, she's good. Well, she pointed out. that it's interesting that it mirrored. sort of the uh.

the cartography of the day in Atlantic. City. Like Boardwalk was clearly like a. rich area. Yeah. Uh the Baltic and. Mediterranean, the cheapest properties. were uh in African American. neighborhoods. Uh there was a Reading. Railroad uh that transferred people. between Philly and Atlantic City. Yeah. And little known fact for our friends in. the gay community, New York Avenue was. one of the earliest gay scenes in the. country. Yeah. So, buy that one up. And support support the LBGT community.

>> That's right. If you're playing. Monopoly, that's what I would do. And. maybe just, you know, don't charge. anybody when they land on it. Yeah, just. be like this is the party place, everybody. >> Exactly. And Marvin Gardens apparently. is misspelled. Yeah, the E instead of an. I or I instead of an E? Yeah, on the. board it's an I and it's supposed to be. an E. >> Yeah. There's a lot of Monopoly facts dropping. all around us right now. I know. It's. raining thimbles. Um before we go any. further though, you want to do a message. break? Yes. Okay, we'll be right back,

everyone. Uh all right, so we were just talking. about Atlantic City. Um I guess it's we can go ahead and. point out now that there are hundreds of. versions of Monopoly out there now. Yeah. >> your hometown, probably. Yeah. Uh one. for your favorite sports team. Yeah. Uh.

I have personally my version is a Star. Wars Monopoly. Nice. Uh which is pretty. fun. Nice. Um yeah, the. I I guess Hasbro's like, "You got some. money? Sure, you can license this and. make your own Monopoly game. Go ahead.". There's a Simpsons Monopoly. I haven't. played it, though. And not in addition. to the um licensed versions that you can. find like everywhere, Yeah. they also. have like official versions, too. Like. there's a US version, Yeah. there's a UK. version, there's um a there's a new.

version that's called Monopoly Here and. Now. What does that even mean? Super. corporate. Oh, is this the corporate. one? Yeah. Okay. It's uh it's like. everything is multiplied by I think a. thousand. So, the dollar amounts are way. higher. >> the. uh. The railroads are replaced by airports, including Car Place. >> one where they replaced corporations for. all the uh properties, though? Yes. >> Like McDonald's and Sony and Yeah. God,

who would want to play that? Uh some. people do. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Um I mean, I'm not a purist cuz I have. the Star Wars version, but I just it's. no fun to me to. play as Paramount Pictures and Right. >> to buy the McDonald's property. Yeah. No, that's just me. Um. So, there are a bunch of different. versions, but the one we're going to. talk about we'll just talk about the the. normal version with the 2008 rules. Yeah, and there's actually coming soon. um later this year there you can go.

online at mymonopoly and you can design. your own board. Is that right? >> And do like your own neighborhood. Wow. >> And then they will make it for you. And. I think it's like 150 bucks or. something. Wow, money bags. >> You can get I'm not going to do it. You can do the Eastlake Monopoly. >> I was talking to whoever went and got. it. >> Oh, sure. Yeah, rich. Uncle Rich Pennybags. That's what you should have said. Rich. Uncle Pennybags. Pennybags just sounds. not not that wealthy. Well, actually. >> a bag of pennies on me right now. He uh.

Forbes has their silly fictional 15 list. of fictional characters' uh wealth and. he um in 2013 was number. 13. That's 15. >> Jeez, his uh stars declined some, huh? Guess who the first the richest. fictional character is. The Incredible Hulk. No, he was not. rich. Scrooge McDuck. Oh, yeah. Well, dude, he had that gold. vault. Apparently 65 billion. Uh number two was Smaug,

which I thought was kind of silly. Smaug from like uh. >> Lord of the Rings. It's a dragon, I think. He had like was. sitting on a bunch of gold. Got you. Uh. Carlisle Cullen, number three. Tony. Stark, four. Charles Foster Kane, number five. Who is. number three? Carlisle Cullen from uh Twilight. Who is that? He was the dad vampire dad. of the vampire family. Um and he's been alive forever, so I. guess he just keeps accumulating wealth. >> Yeah. Uh Bruce Wayne, Richie Rich, Christian.

Grey. Richie Rich, I forgot about him. >> He's number seven. He had a robot maid. and a crazy like uh weird scientist. friend, didn't he? Uh sure. >> [laughter]. >> Like a Richie Rich robot of himself? Mm. I think he had that, too, but no, his. maid was a robot, wasn't it? That was the Jetsons. No, he had a robot maid, too, I think. Yeah. Uh I thought Monty Burns at number. 10 was pretty good. Oh, yeah, that's a. good one. Although, I would guess Mr.

Monopoly would be wealthier than Monty. Burns, but Yeah, 13. Huh. And they put it out each year and. it's. dumb. Can we just admit that? >> [laughter]. >> I was thrilled by it. Okay. We just. spent 3 minutes on it. >> Yeah, well, that's true. Okay, so. chuckers. Yeah. You want to talk about. the the rules of the game? Again, 2008 rules. If you are a Monopoly. purist and. like I'm sorry. This is what we're going. with. Yeah. Well, let's talk about the. game board itself just so if you haven't.

played it, uh I'm surprised cuz I think like a. billion people have played the game. Mhm. Um but if you haven't, when you get. your Monopoly game, you're going to open. it up and you're going to have a board. with all these different properties in a. square. Uh you have two dice. Uh 12. they call them tokens. That's not the right amount, either, is. it? No, there's eight. Yeah. I don't understand where they got. 12 from unless they're counting ones. that maybe were retired or something. like that, but when you open the box, there's only eight there. Yeah. There is.

a Can we go over them? Sure. There's a. wheelbarrow, a Scotty dog, Yeah. a top hat, a cat, which replaced the iron in 2013. Yeah. There was a big um big to-do. because. Parker Brothers or Hasbro was like, "We. haven't made. a. a lot of money off of this for a couple. months. So, let's just do something.". Well, they let people vote, at least, which is kind of cool. Right, but it was. also Did you see the other ones that. they were voting for? It's like a robot,

like Richie Rich's maid. A guitar. A. guitar? Yeah. They did they didn't make. the cut, though. No, they got voted out. And the cat got voted in, but the iron. got booted. Yeah, it only got 8% of the. vote. Uh there's the classic shoe, of. course, or boot, which is a modeled. after a 1930s working shoe. Mhm. And I. think they've kept it the same. Yeah, that's one of the original ones. The the Scotty dog was not one of the. originals. It came in the '50s. Yeah, and I think that was supposed to be the. uh companion of uh.

Milburn Money Penny. Is that right? >> [laughter]. >> Pennybags. Pennybags is not Should be cash bags. Fat stacks. >> Fat stacks bag. Uh there was a cannon, which has since been retired. Yeah. They thought it was too. militaristic. >> Well, it was the cannon and the um. battleship? Yeah, they were from a. failed game called Conflict and they. were like, "Well, we got all these. pieces. >> Oh, yeah. >> Let's just throw them in Monopoly for. now. Right. It's pretty smart. But they. phased the cannon out because it was. just too overtly violent. Um it just.

says with any without any fanfare or. vote or campaign, so probably, yeah. That'd be my guess. If it's hush-hush, Yeah. >> it's probably cuz of violence. >> There's a conspiracy afoot. Uh there's. the race car, Yeah. which every little. kid's favorite. Which apparently had a. number three on the side for a little. while. Yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah, Dale Earnhardt. I guess so. [laughter]. Uh. her purse has been retired. Yeah. Uh the rocking horse was retired. Yep.

The lantern was retired. Oh, yeah. I'm doing my best Ben Baller impression. Did you do uh did you get wheelbarrow in. there yet? I think I No. Yes, I did. It. was the first one I said. Did we say top. hat? Yeah, that was always my favorite, actually. >> I I don't remember what my favorite was. >> It fit on my pinky and I used to draw. faces on it. >> Oh, yeah. >> [laughter]. >> Uh the horse and rider, which is. retired, which I didn't know. That's one. of the best pieces to me. Uh what? You didn't know it was retired? >> No. It was kind of sad. Yeah. Uh and now.

there uh and that sack of money was. retired as well. The sack of money and a. purse. Those are a little similar. Yeah, I'm just the cat. Come on. Yeah. Cat. people. I'm sure they're like, yeah, that's exactly right. I guarantee that's. why they they got cat voted in. >> And I am a cat person. You know? And even you think it's. stupid. >> Exactly. So, those are the tokens some. of those tokens that we mentioned you're. going to find in the 2008 set. Yeah, and. that is your piece. That is what.

represents you in the game. Yes. >> Again, for the three people who've never. played Monopoly. All right. Yeah, because supposedly um. at least as far as Hasbro calculates, over 1 billion people have played. Monopoly. And frankly, I'm surprised. it's that low. It sounds like an old number. Yeah. Um okay, so you've got the box open. You. got the board, you got two dice, you got. the tokens, 32 houses, >> Yeah. and 12 hotels, >> Yeah. uh 16 chance cards, 16 community chest.

cards, Yeah. a title deed card for each. property. It's got the information on it. like how much it cost to purchase, sure, how much rent is depending on how many. houses or hotels you have on it. >> Yeah, what the mortgage value is worth. That's right. Um and then you got your. your play money, your Monopoly money, which man, I think that's where it grabs. kids because and they even pointed out. in this article that's um it's kind of. the first time a lot of kids. have money to play with. >> Yeah, especially the the $500 bill ones.

>> Oh man, that gold bill. I always thought. it was orange. Is it gold? Uh yeah. Okay. It's kind of gold. >> One's definitely goldenrod, like yellow. But I remember the 500, it was. Yeah, I guess gold is the way to go. Yeah. Uh see, I was a cash hoarder, which is. no way to win in Monopoly. >> No. You can't save. >> I just thought that just figures would. for me though, like. >> You got to spend money to make money. >> Yeah, I was like, look at all this cash. that I will soon be paying to everyone.

else. >> keep wandering off from the table and. try to buy stuff with it. Did not work. So, Chuck, you've got the board laid out. And if. you count them, if you're that kind of. person, >> Yeah. you're going to find that there's. 40 squares. That's right. Uh I believe. 22 of which are um No, 28 of which can. be purchased. Yeah, 22 are properties. Uh you've got your your electric company. and waterworks. >> Yeah. Suckers bet. And then you got the. four railroads. >> railroads. Yep. So, that's 28.

That's right. There are others that you. can't buy. So, for example, there's a. luxury tax square. Yeah, you got to pay. what, $100 when you land on that? >> so. >> Just right out of just right out of your. pocket. >> There's an income tax square. Yeah, no good. There's the go square, which is where you start. I think. >> And then when you come back around, you. collect $200, which is in Monopoly. called your salary. That's right. I never knew that. I. didn't either. And there's a lot of. rules in here uh.

And then I guess it's a good time to. point out Monopoly is one of those games. where house rules are highly encouraged. >> Mhm. Uh and a lot of the fun of the game. and in fact, to make more money, Monopoly this year. uh had are incorporating the top house. rules as voted on by fans as official. rules for this one version. In a $70. hardback book. >> [laughter]. >> I don't see why a lot of people were. incensed. They were like, we No one. plays by the real rules anyway. So, why. bother packaging it and selling it?

>> Right. And they went, I think you just. said the word sell. Did someone say sell? Therein lies the. answer. Uh so, you've got Oh, there's. And so, there's 40 squares, but there's. actually 41 places you can go to on the. board because jail is divided into two. squares. >> That's right. You got the jail with the. jailbird, what's his name? Uh. I can't remember jailbird jail. >> or something? Jake the jailbird. >> Right, okay. Which is where Jake the. jailbird is and then you've got the.

lower part of it. Um it's just visiting. Yeah, if you want to visit Jake, give him a bundt cake with a nail file. in it. All right. >> It'd be very old school. Or a Monopoly. set with um maybe a map with an escape. route embedded in it. Hey, that sounds. familiar. Yeah, POWs in World War II. were given such Monopoly sets. True. >> strange to me. It's like, were the Nazis. allowing Monopoly sets to be delivered. to POWs? Is that what I'm seeing here? Maybe it's the Burmese. No, I mean, you've seen the.

like the Great Escape on those those the. war prison camps in World War II. It. seemed like a lot of them they let them. like garden and. they were kind of chummy with them. You. saw Hogan's Heroes? I saw Hogan's. Heroes. I didn't put a lot of stock into. it. >> Yeah. But yeah, I know. I just figured. >> soccer. Maybe the Japanese or the. Burmese or the um the Italians, I could. see like saying like, yeah, hey, bring. the Monopoly and who cares? But the. Nazis, I would think would. I just don't see that. Yeah, I'm not. saying it was.

a walk in the park, but I think from the. depiction and uh. like like I said, like the Great Escape, it's not like Vietnam prison camp. Oh, yeah. You know. Like they weren't playing soccer or. Monop- or Monopoly. They were playing. survive another day, that game. Yeah. Um. And I'm not making light of that, by the. way. Oh, I didn't think you were. And I'm. basing everything on war movies, so. I'm probably wrong anyway. >> I've seen Uncommon Valor.

That was a good movie. That was a great. movie. >> age well, though. Really? >> Nah. Remember that menu with the gun. silhouettes on it? And when you're 12, you're like, oh my god. Yeah, it's like, I would buy that one and that one. >> Yeah. Um. All right, so where were we? >> We were talking about um the board. itself. >> Yes. And the different squares. >> Yes, there are the um the the cards that. you can draw as well, community chest. and chance squares. When you land on. these, you draw a card from one of those. two piles. And there are various things.

in there like. you won a fashion modeling contest. You. get $10. >> Oh, and there a dog show one in there, too? >> I think there's probably a dog show. And. there's also, you know, you have street. repairs or um. Those are big time. >> General repairs and that's based on your. properties that you own. >> That's right. They can. >> They can hit you pretty hard. >> Yeah. Yeah. Just like in real life. That's right. >> Um and it's funny because the.

Monopoly. What was her name? Lizzie Maggie? Yeah. In an interview um. she gave with some leftist magazine at. the time. Um. she said she basically called the thing. the game of life. Yeah, that was already taken, though. I. don't know. Was it? >> Yeah, that was That's around since the. like mid-1800s, I think. >> Oh, okay. >> And it's old old. >> I thought she was being prescient. No, she was being. glib. She was She was making a pop.

culture reference for the time. >> Yeah, exactly. >> But did you know apparently there used. to be a square on the Game of Life board. for suicide? Really? >> Yeah, it was a way you could go. I never. really played that. I think I played it. a couple of times. >> I never did, either. I always thought it. was kind of like you get the whole. family in the car and it's like, what. whatever. Yeah, we we did um I mean, we. we weren't the biggest game players as. families, but we did Monopoly some and. Yahtzee was a big one. Yahtzee was. great. >> That I still enjoy today. I love. Yahtzee. >> Sure. Yeah. We also played this game.

called Bull. And it was a like a stock trading game. Oh, yeah? >> With cards. And it's just now occurring to me that. all these games are just teaching you. about life. Yeah. It's like real Monopoly is nothing. but real estate. Uh the Game of Life is. everything. Right. >> Bull was about the stock market. >> Yeah. Sorry was about um. sarcastic. >> [laughter]. >> Sorry. >> Yeah. >> Cuz you had to say it like a jerk. >> Right. Uh Candy Land, we know what. that's all about. Yeah.

Drugs, right? Probably. >> [laughter]. >> Shoots and ladders taught you to stay. away from snakes. >> Yeah, Operation taught you how to be a. doctor. So did that. >> Oh, yeah, that's right. That's where I. got my MD. >> And then, of course, Battleship taught you how to be a. warmonger. That's right. So did Risk. >> You can take great pride in. >> Risk taught you to be the Antichrist. Yeah, Risk, we should do what There is. an article on Risk. I saw I looked it. over. It didn't seem as as interesting. as this one, though. >> Yeah, I don't know if the history is as. interesting, for sure. >> And I mean, isn't that what it what's.

interesting about any game? The history of it? >> Yeah, I think so. So, um let's talk about the rules, dude. Okay. Uh. let's start at the beginning. We'll. start at go. Go is where you start and that's where. you like you said, you collect the 200. every time you land on it or pass it. Yeah. >> Sometimes house rules. uh you get 400 for actually landing on. it. Oh, yeah? >> And only 200 for passing it. We never. played that way. >> sense. That's good. Good rule. >> But um free parking is where we had. house rules.

Um. that is a space on the corner of the. board where you supposedly, per the. official rules, don't do anything. Yeah, there's nothing. It's just a space. But. what we did was we donated all the. collected taxes. and fees and put it under free parking. And if you landed on that, that was like. a lottery win. Oh, yeah. And I know a. lot of people play that way. >> I've heard of that one before. Yeah, it. it was, you know, we were a bunch of. beep. Never mind. I liked it cuz it allowed you more. money, which is my favorite thing.

Right. Cash. It's a lotto. Yeah, exactly. Uh we got ahead of ourselves. Let's let's start at the real beginning. >> Okay. So, uh everybody sits down at the. table. Yeah. Maybe somebody Yeah, somebody gets a drink. Uh maybe you have. to wait because somebody has to go to. the bathroom, so you're all sitting. there quietly, and then when everybody's. finally at the table Yeah. you guys. select a banker. Uh-huh. And the banker. distributes the Monopoly money, $1,500. to each player. Two 500s, two 100s, two. 50s, six 20s, and five 10s, five 5s, and.

five 1s. That's right. >> $1,500. And the goal of the game that we. you're getting to here at 30 minutes in. is to bankrupt all of your family and. friends. >> That's the whole point. Pretty much. Um some people put a time limit because. it this game can go on forever. Um and other people say, "No, it's got. to. you got to finish it by bankrupting. everyone or until the last person is. like, 'I give. Geez, I've got $8.'". >> this game. Yeah, that's usually me. Right. >> And Emily is usually has her foot on my.

throat. Oh, yeah? Yeah, we play. two-person Monopoly, which is just not. fun. Yeah, cuz you know one of you's. going to lose. No, that's not why. It's just It's a. game that's more fun with more people, I. think. >> Yeah, I got you. >> Yeah. Um so, okay. So, everybody's got 1,500. bucks. You roll the dice to see uh who. goes first. Whoever rolls the highest. goes first. >> Classic move. Then you roll both die, and you start moving from the Go square, and you go clockwise around the board. >> Yeah. And when you land on an a.

property, this I didn't know. Yeah. >> Which is kind of a basic rule, I guess, but I never played it this way. When you. land on a property, >> Yeah. you have the option to buy it. I. knew that part. Yeah. But if you decline. to buy it, then the then the property. goes up for auction. I've never not only. have I never played it that way, I've. never heard of anyone playing it that. way. >> Okay, so it's not just me. Not just you. All right. So, uh I guess uh the during. an auction, not only the person not only. everybody else, but the banker and the. person who declined to buy it.

uh can bid on it. Which doesn't make. sense unless you're trying to get it for. lower cuz can't you start the bidding at. wherever? Yes, you can start the bidding. anywhere you want. So, you could. conceivably get it for lower. And if. you're playing against somebody who. declines to buy something and then. starts bidding on it at a lower price, keep an eye on that person cuz that's a. shark. Yeah, they're out to win. >> Yeah. Uh yeah, I hate that rule. Cuz to me, it's just like, "What's the. point in rolling and landing on. something?" I guess right of first. refusal, but Yeah. I don't know. I don't.

like it. No, and plus the Quakers were. like, "We specifically put a price on. these things so there wouldn't be a lot. of yelling.". >> Yeah. We don't like yelling. Uh. they had a another game to follow called. uh. the quiet room praising ceremony. >> [laughter]. >> Those are not Quakers. >> It was fun. That was the Amish. They're. different. Oh, don't you think Quakers. raise some roofs? Yeah, they do. Ain't no party like a Quaker party. >> That's right. Uh all right. So, let's. say you buy all of the properties that.

you know they're they're divided into. different colors like there's three. green. you know, green ones, orange ones, blue. ones, light blue. Um if you buy all of. the properties that are tied together by. a single color, then you have what's. called a monopoly. And that means you. can then charge double rent, although we. never do that. We just. keep it single rent, and you now have. the option to buy houses. Mhm. And then. once you have enough houses, I think. three, you can then. uh buy a hotel. Right. And that's called. improvements. You're improving your.

land. Supposedly. Once you start to do. improvements, um. things change a little bit. Not only can. you start making more money, but it's actually harder to uh mortgage. your properties if you are if you find. yourself in debt. Right. Because this is. this is how crazy complicated it is. Like, I don't think I was ever paying. that much attention to Monopoly that I. ever mortgaged a a piece of land. Oh, really? >> it was like I started to get into debt. or whatever. I was just like, "I'm done. I'm done.". >> Yeah. Um but apparently, so if you find.

yourself indebted, and let's say you. have a monopoly, and um you want to mortgage you can. mortgage just one of the spots, right? Yes. >> But to do so, let's say you have a hotel. um. on the that piece of land that you're. mortgaging, you first have to sell the. hotel back to the bank at half price. Yeah. And then you can mortgage the. land. You're still I think. Are you collecting rent on that land or.

does it go right to the bank? No, that's. where. you just turn the card over, and it's. just you still technically own it. Right. But you can't collect any rents. on it. >> But you can collect rent and everything. on the other two. pieces of property or the other one. depending on which one you own. I don't. know, really? >> I looked it up. So, that doesn't bust up. the monopoly? No, it doesn't. >> Okay. So, you still own the monopoly. It's just that that one is mortgaged. And then to get it back, you have to pay. the bank the mortgage plus 10%. Right. And this is where you can get silly with.

your house rules if you want. Yeah. You. know. Like as far as mortgaging and stuff like. that cuz supposedly it's a rule too. where you can't um the only thing that. is not allowed is a personal loan. Right. >> And uh I did all kinds of personal. loaning cuz I was Mr. Cash. >> [laughter]. >> What were your uh your interest rates? I don't remember. Did you break any. usury laws? No. I was a kid, so it was. it was probably just like. Just pay me back whenever. >> 10% or something. I got you. I'm not the. right I'm not enough of a. You're not the shark.

>> now. You're not the one who like. declines to buy something so you can bid. on it at a lower price. >> Candy Land. I loved Candy Land. >> Actually, I never played that. It was a. great game. >> Was it? Because of the art. Was it just crazy? >> It was beautiful stuff. And then. nowadays, you look at the Candy Land. board, and you're like, "Poor kids. They. don't know what they were missing.". I just got a Ticket to Ride game that I. haven't played yet. Have you heard of. that one? No. It was a German game that's like. won game of the year. It's a train. uh train game. Like you establish train. routes between cities. Uh-huh. Um but.

it's supposedly like it sounds like, "Really? That's fun." But it's supposedly great. I just bled a tear. Did you? At the. thought of it. Yeah, it does sound pretty bad. But no, it's it it's it won game of the year. Well, hey. Those Germans. And watch. people Ticket to Ride enthusiasts will. be like, "Dude, it's the best ever.". >> Oh, I'm sure. No, I've heard like German. game night is like a thing now. Yeah, I. think they're a little more heady. Is that what it is? I think so. This. seems like I read over the rules the. other night uh just so I would know what.

to do and uh. cuz you got to like the purchaser of the. game has to be the game explainer as. well. Right. Do you have to listen to. Kraftwerk while you play? Yeah. Well, you don't have to, but it helps. >> House rules. Yeah. So, um. I I guess we Oh, and we said you you can. do anything but give personal loans, right? That's what the official rule. states. So, like you can I can buy from. you on the side or something like that, or you can hold something up for. auction, whatever anybody's doing. Yeah, and we always played where you had to do.

that when it was your turn. That makes. sense. >> And then that would take your turn as. well. >> Right. Yeah. Um. but again, the whole point is is to be. the person who owns the most stuff Yeah. so that you can bankrupt all of your. family and friends. That's right. And I. mean, those are the rules, but there's. actually strategy to it. And people pay. a lot of attention to this. You know. there's a Monopoly world championship. roughly every 4 years, although it's. been The last one was in 2009. >> Yeah. So, we're due. An American lawyer.

won, right? In 2009, I think. >> No, I think it was a Swede or Norwegian. man. >> Okay. Maybe he was the uh North. American. That's what he was. The North. American champ. Yeah, and he represented. the US in the world championships. It. sounds so silly. Weird. Yeah. Huh. Well, he uh. he used the iron. At least that was retired, yeah. Yeah, I. think the American used the thimble. Got. you. My three-year-old just laughed. She was. like, "Really?". That's a.

That's a fact that people need? >> [laughter]. >> Well, we're trying to really appeal to. the purists here, too. We want everybody. to be engaged. >> Yeah. All right. So, let's do one more. message break, and then we'll come back. and talk strategy. Stuff you should know. >> [music]. >> Stuff you should know. >> [music]. >> Okay, Chuckers. So, again, the point. bankrupt everybody. Bankrupt everybody. But there's like techniques that you can. use to more efficiently bankrupt people.

Like the the overall the best strategy, the basic strategy, is to buy everything. every chance you have. Yeah, I mean, I looked up there's a lot. of different people's uh strategies and. opinions online. Um I did find this one. from a guy, and that was his strategy is buy. everything. It doesn't matter what it. is. >> Right. Even the sucker's bet, the. electric company and the water works. Yeah, which I don't pay off, really. He. said, "Buy it all, and uh and never have.

more than $100 in cash." is his rule. Wow. He says the number one people mis-. uh mistake people make is hoarding cash. like I did. Yeah, you're making the. number one mistake. >> That's right. Uh and he says that um buy. everything and do whatever it takes to. get a monopoly, even a bad one. Like he. will trade. to get a bad monopoly and give someone a. good monopoly even as long as he gets. the monopoly. Oh, got you. And he says. it's fine cuz then, you know, you two. will probably take out everyone else. Uh the point is just to get a monopoly.

and improve it as fast as you can. So, supposedly though, um. a general rule of thumb among like. hardcore Monopoly players is that while. you're improving your monopoly, your. properties, Yeah. by adding houses or. whatever, you want to stop at three. houses Yes. >> because the jump from the third house to. the hotel is financially, it doesn't pay. off usually. >> It's over improvement. Yeah. Just like. in your home. Like don't build that. $80,000 kitchen because you're not going. to get your money back on that. Right.

So three three houses, this guy. doesn't subscribe to that. He buys. everything and puts hotels on it? Yeah, he says as first as he as soon as he. gets his first Monopoly, he mortgages. everything else to get cash back Right. and then uses that cash to improve. Wow. Which I thought was. a little risky. Yeah. Couple of bad rolls. I mean. it's a game of strategy, but at the end. of the day you're rolling dice. And so. it is very much a game of chance. >> I'll bet that guy feels like he's on the. back of a Pegasus though the whole game.

Like he's just thrilled. He claims to. have beaten. >> on the edge. >> He claims to have won a game in 12. minutes one time, which I thought was. tooting his own horn a little bit. Yeah. Sure. Um but real regular strategy, you're. right. They say three houses is the max. you should go. Um and then there's also. some that you should avoid even though. they seem like very tempting. We already. said the electric company and the water. company, the utilities. Yeah. They um. the most you can get for rent from.

landing on them is 10 times the roll of. the dice, which is 120 bucks. But that's. the max roll. It could be as low as $20. Yeah. So Yeah. I mean this guy would. probably say, well hey, it was worth it. Like I I still own them and I'm still. making money if somebody lands on them. But. a lot of again the Monopoly purists say. just stay away from them. Yeah. And you also may want to stay away from. the most expensive ones, Boardwalk and. Park Place. Yeah, they're they're only.

two of them and um. they just don't get landed on very much. >> Yeah, so think about it. Right out of. the gate when you're thinking of. probabilities um. the fact that there's two of these. properties rather than three means that. you are that another player is less. likely to land on your Monopoly because. there's three or two instead of three. So that's one problem. >> Yeah. The other problem is placement. where they are. They're right after um. go. They're right before.

>> Right before go. >> Yeah, so it's at the end of the board. essentially. No, I'm sorry. They're. right before jail? No, they're right. before go. >> They're right before go. Okay. So that. means that most most players are going. to well, they're going to pass them for. sure whenever they hit that um. Go directly to go. Exactly. >> Yeah. Um so that means that your your. Monopoly's going to be passed over. The. likelihood of making your money back, recouping it, especially if they're. improved to the hilt like a really fancy. hotel Sure. means that. >> of money. Yeah, you you've probably sunk.

a lot of money unwisely into those. You. want to go for some other ones. Yeah, supposedly and there are people that. have done there was this one guy. if you really want to get into Monopoly. >> Uh-huh. this dude. I don't even know his name, but just. look up probabilities in the game of. Monopoly. and Scientific American in the mid-90s. did an article. that talked about probabilities of. landing on different spaces Right. but. they excluded um community chest and. chance and being sent to jail. So this. guy said, I took all of that and.

included everything Uh-huh. and he has. uh statistical charts uh long-term. probabilities for ending up on each. square, expected income per opponent. roll Yeah. uh average income per roll. expected number of opponent roll to. recoup incremental costs. uh to recoup mortgages. So It's the name of his website by the. way is monopolywasfun.com. [laughter]. It totally should be. Um but um if you just want to do some.

basic probabilities, the orange. properties are landed on more than. anyone else. Yes, and why Chuck? Uh. because. they are after jail. Yeah, it's six, eight, and nine spaces after jail. Yeah, so if you get sent to jail, which is. going to happen at some point. And we. actually we didn't talk about jail, we'll talk about that. >> Okay. Then you yeah, chances are you're going. to hit one of those orange squares on. your way out of jail. Yeah, because. you're rolling with two dice, so you're. much more likely to roll like a six,

eight, or a nine than you are like a two. or a three or a one. >> Yeah. It's not even possible to roll a. one. Try it, you can't. You can't unless you eat one of the. dice. >> [laughter]. >> And in which case unless it's a house. rule Yeah. everybody's going to yell at. you and have to wait around until you. poop it out to keep playing. Actually, our rule was you had to roll the child. in. The what? The child who ate the dice. Oh, yeah. >> [laughter]. >> Just see what happens. >> Shake him up, yeah. Yep. Uh all right, so jail um. is on the corner of the board and you. can there are a few different ways you.

can go there. Uh you can draw a go to jail card. Right. Uh you can throw three doubles in. a row and go to jail. Yeah. Which I. never understood because that's a good. thing. I guess, but it's also the sign. of the devil, so that's why you have to. go to jail for a little while to be. cleansed. That's right. Or there's a. square marked go to jail and you can. land on that and go to jail. Uh you can also get out in three ways. You can have that get out of jail free. card. If you draw that, you can hold on. to it. We could sell it, although I.

think that's a house rule. Mhm. You. could sell it to a friend. or enemy. Uh. >> [laughter]. >> Whoever whoever had the most cash, right? >> Exactly. Uh and then you basically the other ways. to roll to either pay your way out for. with 50 bucks or to roll your way out. The way we played it was each turn you. had one chance to roll your way out of. jail. So you if you're rolling. >> rolling doubles, right? >> Yeah. Um and then if you under official. rules, if you don't roll doubles for. three consecutive turns like you get.

three consecutive chances to roll. doubles and if you don't on any of those. turns, then you have to pay 50 bucks to. get out of jail. Uh we just played where. you just got out and you didn't have to. pay. Okay, well then you guys weren't. following the rules. I told you the. house rules, the Bryant house rules. >> So there's actually a strategy to jail. Yeah. Um if you go to jail early on in. the game. you want to pay your 50 bucks to get out. immediately. Just pay the 50 bucks. because then you can keep going around. the board and there's more stuff.

available to buy. >> Yeah. But later in the game. you want to just kind of hang out in. jail. Yeah, like Josh has bought all the. orange spaces. Yeah. And you've got. hotels on each one. >> Yeah. So I'm thinking I might be good to. sit in jail for a few rounds. Yeah, because you can still collect rent on. your properties. but the fact that you're in jail keeps. you off of my properties. Yeah, and all. another Bryant rule, we played where. when you were in jail you could not. collect any rents. Yeah, I mean that makes sense, but. according to official rules That's.

right. you just make as much money as. you want there. And apparently in jail. you can officially you can also buy and. sell properties and improve your and. collect rent and build hotels and. houses, which. I thought I don't know. If you're in. jail you kind of lose that right. Seems like it. In real jail, that's the. way it is. No, it's not. You can own a. house and be in jail? I guess that's true. And technically you. could probably charge rent to a someone. You could sublet it. Like I'm going to. be gone for three to six. No, it's true, but what happens when your dishwasher. breaks? Try to get let out of jail to go.

fix it. >> [laughter]. >> They're not going to let you do that. That's very funny. But it's true, too. Uh probability experts also say you get. a good return on buying all of the. railroads. because they're pretty cheap. Uh there's. one on each side Mhm. and once you have. each once you own all of them. um they're $200 in rent. So. that's not too bad. Not too shabby. No. But to me a Monopoly is the reason. Monopolies are valuable but is because.

they're in a row. Whereas the railroads are spaced out. Right. Uh and our friend the strategist who. thinks he. uh invented the game. says, but what you have to remember is. none of these strategies matter because. you're playing it's a game of people and. personalities. So he said you got to sit back and watch. the different personalities emerge and. then use manipulate that. Gotcha. Like the cash hoarder versus the. shark and uh Right. He's like you're.

really playing against people. Man, that's interesting. I thought so. Okay. So let's talk about another. friend. An economist. His name is uh Ralph. Anspach. Yes. And he back in the 70s had a game. called Anti-Monopoly. Yeah, he was an econ professor at San. Francisco State. >> That's right. And um. like made his own real game. Like he. didn't just like draw it up on paper.

Like he started a little small business. Right. And manufactured it. >> Apparently sold about 200,000 copies of. it like right out of the gate. Yeah. Like it just hit a nerve. It again it. was called Anti-Monopoly and the whole. point of it was to break up Monopolies. rather than build Monopolies. Yeah, at. the beginning of the game is essentially. the end of a regular game. Like everyone. starts off with Monopolies. and instead of real estate and utilities. um. in Anti-Monopoly they had their. individual businesses.

that had been brought under a single. ownership and you take the role of. federal case worker and bring. indictments against monopolized. businesses. That's right. In order to. turn return the board to a free market. system. And you have to wear sensible shoes. >> [laughter]. >> It sounds awesome. Yeah, well and he came up with this. because he was trying to apparently. explain to his son what was wrong and. bad about Monopolies. >> Right. and I suspect capitalism to a. certain extent and he came up with this.

game instead. Like I said, sold a. substantial amount, 200,000 copies of a. game, especially back in the 70s that. was pretty good. >> As a startup? >> Yeah. You know. And it caught Parker. Brothers' attention enough that they. sent him a cease and desist letter, took. him to court, got a court order for him. to hand over his like 37,000 copies that. he had in his warehouse, and um they. Parker Brothers went and unceremoniously. buried him in a landfill in Minnesota. >> Yeah. So, um.

uh Ralph. didn't cotton to this. very much. He didn't like that. He. doesn't like to be pushed around, I I. get the impression. No, I mean a guy who. makes Anti-Monopoly is not going to cave. in to the courts initially. >> Right. >> And he did so like very much at his own. financial detriment. He uh had a very. expensive team of lawyers at first. Um. and spent quite a bit of money fighting. Parker Brothers for the right to use. Anti-Monopoly. And um.

um well, it wasn't really going. anywhere, and he was losing a lot of money, so he. started to do legwork himself. Found a a. lawyer friend um who worked on the cheap. for him. And. that's when things started taking off. Yeah, I mean he basically uncovered the. the lie that it was invented by Charles. Darrow. >> Yeah. He found out that the game was. essentially in the public domain. Uh or should have been. And um. went all the way to the Supreme Court.

and won. Yeah, he won at the Supreme. Court. This econ professor who came up. with the game called Anti-Monopoly won. in the Supreme Court, won the right to. name his game Anti-Monopoly. Yeah, I. mean he he deposed the uh. the two Quakers that were friends of. Hoskins that were old at that point. They took the stand. >> Mhm. Um he deposed the CEO of Parker. Brothers. >> Mhm. And he took the stand and it had to. admit under oath like, "Yeah, we did. kind of steal it." Nice. the idea from.

that lady um after all. And so uh as. Ralph says, the um the whole point to. him was for this true story, the true. origins of Monopoly and how it came. about and the whole point of it. originally Yeah. could still be told. openly. And that what he said um. couldn't be bought at any price in his. opinion. That's right. And so way to go, Ralph. >> Yeah, he wrote a book uh. awkwardly titled The Billion Dollar. Monopoly. and Swindle, colon,

during a David and Goliath battle, Anti-Monopoly uncovers the secret. history. of Monopoly. That's a little clunky. Little clunky, but it's still around. Um. in 1984, there was a new version called. Anti-Monopoly 2. uh where you could actually be a. monopolist or a competitor. So, you got. to choose, which I thought was. interesting. And if you chose. the competitor. you charge lower rents and you can. improve property anytime, but if you're. a monopolist you have to own at least.

two properties uh before in a group. before building houses in charge a lot. higher rent. So, I think you're like. playing against. the two systems within the same game. That's really interesting. Yeah, I'm. going to I might grab one of these and. see what it's like. Yeah. Maybe. Tell everybody it's German. Uh you got anything else? I got nothing. else. >> I do. The longest Monopoly game of all. time, 70 days. I played a game of Risk that seemed like. it lasted that long once. It may have. It It didn't last that.

long, but it lasted a weekend. Oh, okay. Um and Monopoly, I don't have the. patience for that. I'll just give up. I'll take my ca- fake cash and go home. Yeah. You're hoard of it. >> Yeah. You're like, "Oh, I I saved all this. money." That's right, and I own the. utilities. Uh if you want to learn more about. Monopoly, including how to play, if you. don't like house rules, but you also. don't feel like looking at the official. rulebook you can just go on to. HowStuffWorks Yeah. and check out the.

rules that is in this article. Just type. Monopoly in the search bar at. howstuffworks.com. And since I I said search bar, it's time. for what, listener mail? Yes. Okay. I'm going to call this help for a fan in. need. Oh, that's nice. Hey guys, I want. some help, please. My wife and I are. expecting our first kid this summer, and. 13 days ago we also [music] found out. that my wife has stage four breast. cancer. So, we are spending our third trimester. getting chemo. My goodness. I know. Uh. we're going to kick cancer in the butt,

we have no doubt, but we're scared and. overwhelmed, obviously. Uh we're doing. chemo now, then we'll have the baby, get. more chemo, then bilateral mastectomy, then radiation. Uh we have great doctors. and great friends and family, so even in. the face of this, we feel very lucky. Uh and by the way, I got a follow-up. more recently that says. uh. there is no gestational diabetes and the. cancer is already shrinking. Oh, that's. great. >> So, things are going great so far. Thanks for not keeping us in suspense. I. know, I was going to wait till the end. Uh and he asked for a couple of favors.

He said uh first of all, if you want to. follow and promote my Tumblr uh to keep. people updated, it is. um http colon slash slash. gallifreykiddicky. >> [laughter]. >> g a l l i uh f r e e k y d [music] e e k. y dot tumblr.com. Okay. He says we're. huge nerds and Doctor Who fans, so that. was lost on me. It's some Doctor Who. reference, I guess. >> Apparently so. Does it have to do with. the phone booth, maybe? That's the only thing you know about. Doctor Who. Same here.

Um secondly, I'm biking 150 miles to. raise money. And uh could you plug that? And you can go to goo.gl. [music]. slash. 2wjzxq. These people don't like normal words. Well, that's one of those shortened. URLs. Oh, I see. It's a goo. Got you. Uh and then third, how about a. shout-out? I think that's what we're. doing here. Uh my wife is a little shy, so just use her nickname, The Mayor. >> [laughter]. >> Oh, that's hilarious. Does she wear a.

sash during chemo and childbirth? >> I guess so. I mean, I call Emily the. boss, so I guess it's the mayor. >> Yeah. But the mayor is like the boss of. several bosses, I would guess. Yeah, we. used to call my friend Justin, who you. know, the mayor of Atlanta, because. everywhere he went he somebody knew him. He's a sociable fellow. But now we just. call him the manager of Atlanta, because. everywhere you go he has some. improvement to that place. Oh, okay. >> Like the lighting's not quite right, or. the door should be over there. >> That's hilarious. The kitchen is not. located properly. Those Brits. Yeah.

Uh and then fourth, my wife works in. public policy, specifically helping. women and families uh get themselves out. of poverty and advocating for low-income. workers. So, there you have it, an awesome and. incredible woman who dedicates her. considerable talents helping others, is. pregnant, and has breast cancer. Kind of. hard to say no, right? I'm not above. guilt-tripping. So, Bob from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, um. there you go. People should go and check. out that stuff and support your bike. ride, and Mhm. I hope things have. continued to progress well for your wife. and child, and yeah. Uh keep us updated.

Yeah, and you keep me updated at the. very least, if not everybody listening. I will. Okay. Uh thanks a lot, Bob and. the mayor. Good luck to you both. And um. let's see, if you want to get in touch. with us whether you're a mayor a. provincial governor who knows? Yeah. You. can get in touch with us on Twitter at. SYSKPodcast. You can join us on facebook.com slash. stuff you should know. You can send us. an email to. stuffpodcast@howstuffworks.com.

And join us at our home on the web. Stuff You Should Know.com. For more on this and thousands [music]. of other topics, visit. howstuffworks.com.